TUALATIN -- Although he left ClubSport a little worse for wear -- requiring bandage for his split left eyebrow -- Payton Pritchard remained cognizant.

"Thanks for the stitches," Pritchard told Team USA Junior National Select teammate De'Aaron Fox standing on the walkway at ClubSport.

"Your head ran into mine," Fox shot back, smiling, no scratch or bruise to bare.

The two are part of 13 nationally ranked high school basketball players donning U.S.A. across their chests to compete at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit (game tips at noon on Saturday). On Wednesday, the U.S. team went through two practices, and a collision between Pritchard and Fox was a preview of the group's collective competitive drive.

Pritchard on Saturday will become the first Oregonian to play in the Nike Hoop Summit since Kyle Wiltjer did so in 2011. He joins the ranks of the state's recent basketball royalty: Wiltjer, Terrence Jones, Mike Moser, Kyle Singler, Kevin Love and Mike Dunleavy Jr. All this just weeks removed from winning his fourth state championship for West Linn.

While the daily competition is unlike what Pritchard is used to against Oregon opponents, the field is familiar. Pritchard has seen, played against and befriended many of Team USA's roster on the AAU circuit, at national camps and other places. Still, the need to elevate his play remains. "You just can't go to the rim as easy," Pritchard explained as the biggest difference between Oregon-level and national competition. "You gotta be really crafty. In Oregon you can get to the rim and jump over everybody."

Pritchard has been groomed, in a sense, for his Team USA roster spot. The pinpoint point guard played on Team USA's 3-on-3 team over the past year, and has been on hand for scrimmages against the national select team during the past two Nike Hoop Summit training camps.

On Saturday, he gets to show a national audience he belongs.

In the video above, check out what Pritchard had to say when he caught up with The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday.